Category: Trusting God

Sometimes life seems upside-down. When we draw closer to God, we begin to learn and trust that He has a plan for us and we can let go of many of life’s anxieties knowing that He has our best interest at heart.

The Power of Prayer and Praise

Posted on by Wendy
Prayer and praise together are powerful.

I’m participating in an online Bible study on the books of Chronicles. They are the history of God’s relationship with His people. There are examples of both good and bad kings and lots of examples of the downright failure of humankind to stay faithful to God. King Jehoshaphat was one of the good kings and the account of one of his battles in 2 Chronicles, really stood out to me.

Some of his enemies had decided to fight him for no good reason and he went to God to beg for His intervention. He first praised God’s mightiness and faithfulness, by listing the many ways God had saved them before. Next, he openly acknowledged that they were powerless against the great armies that were coming against them. He said they don’t know what to do so they were asking God for help.

God answered the king through a prophet, “This is what the Lord says to you: Don’t be afraid or discouraged by this great army because the battle isn’t yours. It belongs to God! 16 March out against them tomorrow. Since they will be coming through the Ziz pass, meet them at the end of the valley that opens into the Jeruel wilderness. 17 You don’t need to fight this battle. Just take your places, stand ready, and watch how the Lord, who is with you, will deliver you, Judah and Jerusalem. Don’t be afraid or discouraged! Go out tomorrow and face them. The Lord will be with you.” 2 Chronicles 20:15-17

My favorite part was what happened next. They decided to trust God.

“21 After consulting with the people, Jehoshaphat appointed musicians to play for the Lord, praising his majestic holiness. They were to march out before the warriors, saying, “Give thanks to the Lord because his faithful love lasts forever!” 22 As they broke into joyful song and praise, the Lord launched a surprise attack against the Ammonites, the Moabites, and those from Mount Seir who were invading Judah, so that they were defeated.” 2 Chronicles 20:21-22

Since they trusted that God would provide, they went out singing and praising Him with both their voices and instruments. They didn’t even lift a sword.

The account made me ask myself about my own prayer and trust. When I take something to God in prayer, do I drop my anxiety and trust Him? Do I truly believe that He will deliver me like He has countless times before?

Later in the week, I needed to have a hard conversation. As I was praying about it, a song came on the radio about fighting on our knees. I could totally relate. But then, “I’ve Got Joy,” by CeCe Winans came on and I found myself singing to the top of my lungs. “I’ve got joy in the struggle. I’ve got peace in the storm…I’ve got joy cause I’ve got Jesus.”

I felt at perfect peace when I had that conversation. I was not the least bit surprised when it went well.

A biblical king reminded me to never forget the power of both prayer and praise. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Jesus Knows Your Name

Posted on by Wendy
We all have a part to play in kingdom work.

I recently heard a sermon where the pastor talked about the account in Matthew 26, where the woman pours very expensive perfume, Nard, on Jesus. While the disciples were appalled at what they considered a waste of precious resources, Jesus praised her.

“Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” Matthew 26:13

The pastor pointed out that she has no name in Matthew’s Gospel. We learn in other accounts that her name is Mary, but in Matthew’s account she isn’t named, yet Jesus predicted that wherever the Gospel is preached, we would be talking about her selfless act. Over, two thousand years later, we are still talking about her.

Was the Gospel writer led by the Holy Spirit to know that humanity has a tendency to make idols of just about anything and so decided to leave her unnamed? We may never know.

In the end, it doesn’t matter whether or not we know her name. All that matters is that Jesus knows her name.

That sermon got me to thinking about the countless other people in the Bible who were doing kingdom work but weren’t given a name. There’s the woman at the well who may have been the first evangelist. There’s the boy who gave up his bread and fish to Jesus, all he had, and watched it feed thousands.

Are their stories any less powerful because they aren’t named?

There are the men walking to Emmaus. One of them is named and one was not. Was the encounter any less lifechanging for the traveler not named? Was he less of a disciple of the Gospel going forward?

What about the four friends who lowered their paralytic friend through a roof to get to Jesus? Jesus told them that their faith healed their friend. They too, weren’t named, yet they too, continue to serve as a powerful example of the power of faith.

In today’s society, we can bet the name of the boy with the fish and loaves would be plastered all over Facebook by his parents.

The four friends would likely be on Instagram or Tik-Tok.

We don’t like the idea of obscurity. We want the world to know when we do something we consider important. We crave the praise of others.

Yet, we worship a God whose kingdom has always been contrary to ours. It’s an upside-down concept to for us not get credit. We tend to forget that the only credit we should seek is the heavenly kind.

All of the countless unnamed people in the Bible, remind me that we each have a part to play in kingdom building and there truly are no small parts when we are working for Jesus. Whatever our gifts and talents are, we are called to use them generously, knowing that ultimately the only praise that really matters is getting to one day hear Jesus say: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” Matthew 25:23

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 😊

His Creative Provision

Posted on by Wendy
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

On Tuesday of this week, I complained to my hubby about being bored. Don’t get me wrong, I have lots going on. This season has been particularly busy for me, but I was longing for a creative project. Normally, in January, I get motivated to paint a room or re-do a piece of furniture. But, this January came and went and I hadn’t done anything creative.

The following day, I left work early to go and purchase flowers for centerpieces at an event I was coordinating the following evening. I labored over how many bunches to purchase to split between fourteen mason jars. I finally settled on five and headed home. I put them in big plastic pitchers with water until after dinner when I could work with them.

When the dishes were done, I spread all of the jars out on my kitchen table, cut off the plastic from the stems and got to work. I had recently read a book about flower arranging and I was trying to follow the author’s advice. At first, I cut the stems too long and then l cut three big blooms too short and had to toss them. At that point, I became a little frustrated thinking I should have bought one more bunch, but a little nudge told me to just keep working.

I did and I found myself really enjoying the process as I experimented with different textures and colors in different jars. No two stems were exactly alike, even if they were the same type of flower. I marveled, as I often do, at God’s seemingly endless love of the unique.

The time passed quickly and when I looked at my watch, almost two hours had gone by. At last, I stood back and to take a look at my finished work as a whole. I smiled as I realized no two jars were alike. When I looked over and saw the flowers and fillers left in the two pitchers, I broke out into a full grin.

Of course, there had been enough. Why was I always so quick to second guess my decisions? As I reflected on that thought for a moment, my “need to do something creative” conversation with my hubby sprang to mind. At that point, I chuckled and said a prayer of thanks.

God is always at work. He is always planning for what we need well before we even know we need it. He knew way before I did what a busy season this would be for me and the One who knit me together in my mother’s womb, knew I would still need a creative outlet in this season. I’m not sure why I was surprised that He created one for me.

If we look for Him, we will find Him. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 😊

Daffodil Reminders

Posted on by Wendy
The days may be dark now, but spring is coming.

I am not a fan of winter. I don’t like cold weather. I typically have no energy in January and February. All I really want to do is sleep. One year, I was so winter tired, I had my thyroid checked because I knew I must have had a physical issue. My thyroid was fine. I’m just not a winter person.

Everything in nature appears dead during the winter. Add in all of the rain we tend to get and the world becomes downright dreary. I am well aware that the rain is good in the long run. I am also aware that winter is part of the seasons that God put into place from the very beginning.

Winter has a purpose even if I don’t enjoy it.

One day this week I was driving into work, running a little late and annoyed at the gray skies above. We were expecting rain for the remainder of the week.

I had been praying that God would show Himself in a way I could reflect back to others. When I arrived,  I took a different path than I normally take when I came upon a patch of daffodils. They looked so bright and cheerful against the gloom. They pointed almost defiantly to better days ahead and even though I was running late, I stopped to take a picture.

I’ll have to admit my spirit felt a little lighter as I said a prayer of thanks for the God wink.

At lunch, for the first time in days, the sun was out and it was warm and so I took a walk through campus. I was delighted to see a tree full of pink blooms standing out against all the other bare trees. As I continued on my way, I caught small glimpses here and there of the coming spring.

In some cases I had to seek them out, but each time I saw one, I felt encouraged. This dark season would not last forever.

The rain is supposed to move back in tonight and last for another couple of days. This weekend’s forecast calls for more cold weather. Winter is not done with us yet, but it won’t last forever.

In life, our winter seasons never last forever either. Even during our darkest times, there are always glimpses of hope if we dare to look hard enough for them. If we seek, we shall find.

God is always with us even when it appears that He is not. Spring will always come. A patch of daffodils reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 😊

Trusting God with Prayer

Posted on by Wendy
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

 

As someone who enjoys writing, I try to keep a notebook close by most of the time. I never know when a phrase or conversation might inspire me and I know if I don’t jot inspirations down immediately, I will likely lose them.

I have often read about people keeping prayer journals, but I have never really done that. I try to talk to God all day long about even trivial things and it would simply be too time consuming to write it all down.

But, for some reason, I was led to write down a prayer on New Years’ Day 2020. It was a prayer of hopes and dreams for the future. Both of my kiddos were in college and I felt I was at a bit of a crossroads regarding my next chapter.

Keep in mind that we had never even heard of Covid 19 before March of 2020.

I was flipping through one of my old notebooks and I found that prayer. I was a little stunned as I read through it.

God has been amazingly faithful and answered those prayers in so many unexpected and beautiful ways. When I look at that written prayer on the other side of Covid, I find it particularly timely. I recently listened to a sermon about how God holds time. He is never surprised by what is coming. That’s why Biblical prophecy is always correct.

When I was led in 2020 to write down a prayer, the Holy Spirit was at work. I had no way of knowing then that seeds were being planted in my heart, but God knew. God knew about the chaotic chapter that was about to come for all of humanity and He got busy on changing my focus way before I even knew it needed to be changed.

Finding that prayer reminded me that God is always listening and always working. He is also always planting. We get to choose whether or not we are receptive to the seeds. Do we provide fertile hearts and souls? Are we open to His plans? Are we brave enough to trust that they are better than our own?

Finding that prayer was like finding an old black and white photo. It lets me compare where I was to where I am and it fills my heart with both hope and joy. Writing prayers down allows us to look back and see how very faithful God is in our lives. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an Awesome Day!

Wendy 🙂

Reading the Bible Expectantly

Posted on by Wendy
When we read the Bible expectantly, beautiful things can happen.

I recently heard a pastor speak about how we read the Bible. He asked if we read it because we are supposed to or do we read it because we want to draw closer to God. He suggested that most of us do both and admitted to doing so himself. He then challenged us to start reading it expectantly. He said if we want God to communicate with us, we need to intentionally read His word, not just skim over it to check a box.

I was intrigued by this concept. What does expectantly look like? When I pray about something or for someone, do I expect an answer?  Are both my heart and hands open for the blessings I hope for?

As I pondered the idea of expectantly, I decided to start keeping a pen and paper handy when I read my morning devotion. If I am reading expectantly, then I would think I would receive information worth writing down.

I was not disappointed.

I took a few days and wrote down the verses that spoke to me. I had been praying about some life changes and my focus word for the year is trust. As I read back over what I wrote, here’s what I found.

“See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:19

He (Jesus) replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7

I just had to smile as I read what I had written and then I felt a little convicted. A little nudge reminded me that trust wasn’t just meant for think of when making future plans.

A couple of weeks earlier, I was driving to work in the rain. The rain quickly turned into a flash flood. It was dark and each time I drove through standing water, it would splash all the way up to my windows. I drove to work at a snail’s pace in a white knuckled panic and I was in tears when I arrived, so very thankful for my safety.

Thinking back on the experience, I now wonder if I was ever truly in danger. The God I trust with my future is the same God who kept me safe in that particular storm and the same God who has held me close during all the storms I have weathered. That thought filled me with a deep sense of peace.

Reading the Bible expectantly reminded me to trust that God holds me close yesterday, today and tomorrow. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 😊

Choosing to See Through the Lens of Thankfulness

Posted on by Wendy
When we take the time to look, we usually find that blessings flow freely.

As Americans prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, we are living through historic levels of inflation and economic uncertainty. Last year, we were still living with the multi-year threat of a seemingly never-ending international pandemic. Some people were still afraid to travel. Social media was still overrun with arguments about wearing masks or not and I won’t even mention the ongoing political arguments.

Many families chose not to gather and break bread over fear or anger or both.

Fear and anger are great dividers.

We all hoped this year would be better. While the pandemic threat has subsided for most, flu is running rampant and now, so is inflation.

The country is just as divided on how to fix the economy as we were on how to handle the pandemic.

At street level, there’s a lot to complain about and the situation looks rather hopeless, yet those of us who hold dual citizenship with heaven and earth are called to take a different view. We are called to remember that life on earth will always be a mix of calm and chaos and if we spend our days longing for better ones, then we will always miss the many blessings that are daily rained down upon us.

We are called to remember that we are travelers here and our King is not the least bit concerned about the economy or the flu.

With Thanksgiving less than a week away, people of faith, have the opportunity to show a dark world what Christian living is supposed to look like. We can live and act in such a way that draws others to Jesus. That includes our social media presence.

The Bible says, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Romans 12:18

We can choose to share our blessings with others both physically and virtually. We can choose to share Jesus.

We are called to love one another. “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8

While fear and anger are great dividers, the fruit of the Holy Spirit fills us with powerful tools of reconciliation like peace, patience, joy, love kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control.

Jesus’ last supper with His disciples reminds me of the importance of breaking bread together. Thanksgiving reminds me that despite what the world tells us, there is always much to be thankful for. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Autumn Lessons

Posted on by Wendy
The oak tree in fall reminds us to walk at our own pace. God’s timing is always perfect.

As I was walking through campus last week, I couldn’t help but to admire the beautiful fall trees. There were tall tees and short trees, old ones and young ones, all participating in the stunning fall art show. The leaves ranged from tiny to huge and the colors were all over the spectrum. There were reds, yellows and oranges. Some of the trees were almost bare, having dropped their leaves early. Then, I passed by an oak, that was still mostly green and hadn’t really started to drop its leaves at all.

I marveled a moment at the mighty oak. I doubted that it really mattered to it what the other trees were doing, and whether it was ahead or behind in the seasonal show. When the time comes, it too, will play its brilliant part.

I immediately thought about one of my students who I had spoken with earlier in the week. She told me that all of her roommates and everyone she knew, had it together, knew exactly what they wanted to do and were going to graduate early. She felt that she was behind. I gently pointed out to her that in real life, there is no behind; we are all figuring it out at our own pace and we will all get there.

I also reminded her that social media is just about all, make-believe. Everyone’s life looks perfect on Instagram. She acknowledged the truth in that statement as we made a plan for her next semester.

I often wonder what it is about humanity that makes us determined to compare ourselves to each other. I don’t think there is anything that can kill peace and joy more quickly than comparison, but we tend to be suckers for punishment.

One walk out in creation can remind us that God loves variety. He has His own timing and it is always good. The trees are all sizes and shapes, just like we are. They bloom at different times. Some trees are evergreen and don’t drop their leaves at all and the ones that do, drop them at their own pace and it is good.

There would be nothing magical about the fall if the leaves all fell in the same week or if they were all the same color. The season is beautiful because every tree is different, just the way God intended.

The fall season reminds me to appreciate where I am in life and that comparison is really about questioning God’s plans and His timing for us. The Bible tells us they are always good. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Lessons from a Scuppernong Vine

Posted on by Wendy
We never know what kinds of fruit may come from the seeds we plant.

Last weekend, my hubby, my mama, and I decided to take a look at some old scuppernong vines that my grandmother planted over fifty years ago. They were a complete overgrown mess. They hadn’t been touched or tended in at least twenty years. The original trellis was on the ground.

Trees had grown up around the trellis and the vines received very little sun. Briars had grown up into the vines along with both sweet gum and pine trees.

The entire situation looked irredeemable. Could there possibly be any life in the middle of that dead mess?

My Daddy, who was working on another project, looked over the fence at us and said, “Lois planted those. They were the sweetest, golden berries you ever tasted.”

Could my grandmother’s planting work still be viable after all these years of neglect?

We began to search for life among the rubble.

My hubby noticed right away that there were scuppernong vines climbing the surrounding trees. Vines have to come from a root. We started cutting and tossing.

To our happy surprise, when we cleared the debris from the top, we found many mother vines rooted deeply in the ground. When we snipped a little closer to the roots, we could see they were very much alive.

We marked them with pink flag tape and began cutting and tossing everything that hindered their growth. My hubby grabbed a chainsaw and took down some trees that were blocking the sun.

It was a lot of hard work as we searched, cut, raked, and hauled. We all had scratches from the briars, but in the end, we had the promise of a fruitful life restored.

The following day, Mama woke with the desire to check on the other vines my grandmother had planted. These were the bigger ones where we often found the most fruit when I was a kid. Again, we found the same situation. There were brambles, briars and trees, but when we cut and removed what wasn’t supposed to be there, we found plenty of living, rooted vines. Delighted, we tagged them as well.

We will soon put in new trellises with strong cables to support those old, but living vines. We will install some type of watering system and we will wait and hope.

As children of God, we are all in the planting business. Sometimes we get to see what we plant on this side of Eternity and sometimes we don’t. Sometimes what we plant lives long after we are gone, but, that is not for us to decide. All we can do, is plant as much as we can while we are here and trust God to do the rest.

Some old scuppernong vines reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy

Unexpected Blessings

Posted on by Wendy
“In the morning Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” Psalm 5:3

As I was driving to work yesterday, I was giving thanks for the rain. We have desperately needed it and although it was no fun to drive in, I was determined to be thankful. As I drove, I prayed for inspiration for a blog post.

I know that God is always at work in my life and I often get glimpses of His handiwork, both in big and small ways. However, sometimes He moves in ways that are very personal either to me or my family and I don’t feel free to share those stories with the world at large, so I prayed for what the Holy Spirit might want me to share.

I sat down at my desk at 7:30. At 7:46, I received a picture text from my Mama. It was the tiniest leaf on a stick, but this wasn’t a random stick.

A few weeks earlier, we decided to try to root a pear tree that my grandmother planted over fifty years ago. It’s still producing some fabulously sweet and juicy pears, but it’s very old and not very healthy. We don’t know how much longer we will have that tree that has such a special place in the hearts our family.

I did some research on how to successfully graft a pear and it’s apparently one of the more difficult trees to graft. We needed warming mats and domes and all types of implements that we didn’t have and we didn’t really have the time to get. The days were getting shorter and if we were going to try it, we needed to get it done.

We took eight cuttings and put them in red solo cups. Our domes were Ziploc bags. My Daddy, our farmer in residence, who can grow just about anything, directed us to put them in windows all over the house and he and Mama were in charge of keeping an eye on them.

A few weeks passed and nothing happened. They spritzed them with water a couple of times. Last weekend, just a few days ago, there was still no sign of life, se we continued to wait.

Then, yesterday morning, I prayed for inspiration and less than half an hour later, my Mama texted a picture of proof of life. A leaf had appeared. The cutting was alive.

I sat in my office grinning as my eyes filled with tears, overwhelmed with gratitude. I offered up a prayer of thanks both for the signs of new life and for a God who answers prayers in the most unexpected ways.

I’ve learned on this journey, that when we walk with God, we should always expect the unexpected. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 😊